If I Can't Protect You
by AvalineBrisbois
Summary: Meliodas has been avoiding Elizabeth for days and Elizabeth can't think of why. He's been slipping out early, coming in late, and occasionally even sleeping on the floor instead of in bed with her. She doesn't know what to do, but when she falls ill and a strange man shows up looking for her, Meliodas decides it's his job to protect her in any way he can. Rated M just to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

Elizabeth leaned back against the pillows, pulling the covers up higher around her. Outside, harsh winds were making the windows rattle, and the rain pattered steadily on the roof. Next to her, the bed had been empty, the covers pulled back with that dent still left in the pillow and mattress. Meliodas' dents. He'd left before she'd woken up, leaving a cold spot where his body warmth should be. He'd been doing that the past few days, and Elizabeth couldn't pinpoint why. But today was different, today a storm was brewing outside and Elizabeth knew, despite her hopes, that he wasn't just downstairs.

She swiped a hand over her forehead to find she was sweating, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The room spun as she sat up, it took at least a minute for her vision to settle. As soon as she made an attempt to stand she was on the floor with splinters in her hands and her cheek pressed against the floorboards.

It was impossible to tell how long she stayed there, her eyes half closed against the cool ground. the room spun. She had known she was sick, she just didn't know how sick. She counted the breaths she took until the door opened. 94.

"Elizabeth." Not who she'd expected, not who she'd wanted. It was Ban, of all people. She was hauled up by her armpits and placed gently on the bed, and the room never stopped swinging around. His face came into view, blurred but out of the darkness. "Hey girl, what's going on? Oh man, you're burning up, I'd better get the captain."

"No." Elizabeth's vision was blurred, spinning, and dark around the edges, but she still managed to snatch his sleeve. "I'll be fine, just…."

The door burst open again. "Hey Elizabeth, there's-" King cut himself off. "Elizabeth? What- Ban?"

"Hey, don't look at me, she was like this when I got here."

"Elizabeth." King crossed the room and knelt down so he was at eye level with the fair haired girl. "Are you sick?" He put his hand to her forehead and recoiled sharply with a hiss. "My god, you're boiling, we should get the captain."

"That's what I said." Ban had turned the other direction, with his nose in the air and his hands locked behind his head. "She said not to."

King turned back to Elizabeth. The world had stopped spinning now, and she was able to prop herself up on one elbow. "Why?" King asked.

"Nobody can know okay? Nobody, not Meliodas, not Diane, nobody. Got it?"

King stared at her. "But… why?"

"Please guys, just do this for me." Elizabeth begged.

King stood straight. "Fine, but what are we supposed to tell them anyway?"

Elizabeth let her eyes wander. "I don't know."

"C'mon princess, give us something." Ban groaned.

"I don't know." Elizabeth tried again to stand, this time almost succeeding, but swaying back and forth on her feet. King rushed to support her. "I don't want them to see me like this."

"Princess." King muttered. "You should stay in bed, everyone's shacked up downstairs so they'll be roaming around."

Elizabeth smiled. "Thank you, King. Just, I guess tell them that I'm still sleeping."

"Got it." Ban waved a hand in the air as he exited the room, and King trailed after him. "Oh, Princess." He said. "There's a strange man at the door asking for you."

Elizabeth looked up, her eyes widening. "Okay, well tell him to come back another time, please."

"Okay." King closed the door softly behind him as he left and Elizabeth threw herself back against the pillows. Who could possibly be at the door for her? A strange man…. Not her father, he wasn't strange to the seven deadly sins. She had only one idea of who it could be and the thought sent ice through her veins, so for the moment, she tried her best to close her eyes and get some sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Elizabeth slipped in and out of sleep for what could've been days, hours, or only minutes. There were no dreams, nothing but silence that seemed to last only seconds. Then she'd wake, thrown out of the darkness all at once, and she'd be lying in the bed she and Meliodas shared feeling fuzzy, gloomy, and surprised all at once.

It was a weird feeling, being surprised. It wasn't a feeling she often felt anymore. She'd seen the most terrifying, astounding things in the world, surprise was a word that had made it's way to the back of her vocabulary and had been collecting dust for some time. But every time she awoke again, she felt surprised. Maybe because she was jolted awake so quickly, or because she'd forgotten being sick.

Each time she woke up, things were different. The first time, there was no one there with her in the dark room. She could hear the sins downstairs laughing and dancing. The sound of dishes clunking and clinking made it's way through the floorboards, and Elizabeth wished she were down there with them, smiling and joking around as well. The room was bathed in the grey light of the storm and the occasional flash of lightning. She pulled the covers up higher to her chin as thunder rumbled loudly across the sky, and once again drifted into sleep.

The second time Elizabeth awoke, she wasn't alone. She sat up to find that a candle had been lit and King was sitting crossed legged on the end of the bed, his green pillow pulled to his chest tightly.

"King?" Elizabeth said, putting a hand to her head as it began to spin. The red haired boy looked up. "Elizabeth, you're awake."

"I am." She said shortly.

"You feeling ok? You're looking more pale than when Ban and I were here before." He leaned back on his hands, letting his legs drop over the side of the bed.

"I feel fine." Lie. "Has Sir Meliodas come back yet?"

King shook his head, and glanced out the window. "The captain goes away sometimes, it can be for hours, or even days at a time. But he always comes back. You don't have to worry about him coming back."

Elizabeth eyed the dark clouds outside, and the droplets of water that slid down the glass of the window pane. "That's not what I'm worried about." She turned back to king whose golden eyes were searching her face, looking for something. Maybe an explanation that wasn't there. She forced a smile. "I should get back to sleep, I'm pretty tired."

King nodded, and he was at the door in four long strides, his pillow tucked securely under one arm. As he opened the door he turned and his big child-like eyes locked on Elizabeth's once more. "You don't have to worry about the captain, princess, he can take care of himself." Then he was gone, and the door was shut tight behind him.

Elizabeth didn't remember falling asleep that time. She remembered sighing and leaning back against the pillows, shivering slightly. Like surprises, cold wasn't something that happened often in Britannia. It was sometimes sunny, sometimes rainy, but it was never cold. Even on days like these, the droplets of water that fell from the sky were warm. So being cold was a surprise in itself.

When she awoke the final time, Elizabeth heard what was happening around her before she saw it. Voices. Ban and King's voices.

Ban spoke first. "Is she even alive?"

King: "Yes, of course she's alive idiot."

Ban: "Well she looks dead."

King: "But she's not."

Elizabeth's eyes opened to see two faces hovering inches above hers. Ban and King.

"Wait," Ban said. "I think she's waking up."

"What?" Elizabeth pushed herself into a sitting position. "What's going on?" She asked, rubbing her eyes.

King and Ban's eyes were wide. King pointed to his nose. "Elizabeth your nose is bleeding."

"Hmm?" Elizabeth's hand came up to touch the space between her nostrils and her upper lip. It came away painted red with blood, just as King had said.

She gasped. Blood. Red, like her mother's when she'd died. Red like her own when she'd been wounded in battle. Red like the sin's when they'd been hurt themselves. Red like Meliodas'.

The thing that happened next was so surprising that even Elizabeth jumped. She didn't know why it happened, but it did. A scream pierced the air and it took her a second to realize it was hers. Why had she done that. She'd seen blood before. She wasn't scared of it. But it reminded her of her mother. When she died. Her eyes, once bright like sapphire were dulled, the color of the sky on a rainy day. They'd gone from blue to grey in just days.

Another scream, and Elizabeth stumbled out of the bed grabbing hold of anything to support her.

Ban and King's faces were white, their eyes wide. "Elizabeth." King breathed.

Elizabeth gasped in air. "I - I don't-"

The door burst open. It was everyone. Merlin, Gowther, and Diane, now shrunk down by one of Merlin's temporary potions.

"What's going on?" Diane demanded. "What did you perverts do to her - Elizabeth are you alri - are you bleeding? Jeez guys, you didn't hit her did you?"

Ban blanched. "What - no she was just - we were just-"

"I'm fine, Diane, really. They didn't hit me. I just -" She brought her fingers back up to wipe away the dribble of blood. "I don't know, I sorta freaked out for no reason." She froze. Blood. She only had a cold, why was there blood? it couldn't be, nobody ever said-

"Elizabeth?" Diane asked. "You okay over there? You're look a little pale."

Elizabeth smiled. "I'm quite fine, Diane. Thank you for asking."

Diane shrugged. "Okay, well if you're sure you're alright…."

"Yup, just alright - errr… fine."

Diane's eyes narrowed. "Okay…. There's a man still waiting downstairs for you if you want to talk to him."

Elizabeth smiled, though it was forced. "Yup, I'll be right down. Let me just get changed first."

Diane shrugged, settled with a belated "K" and guided the rest of the sins back to the first floor.

Elizabeth changed quickly. She tried not to think of the blood on her hand, or coming out of her nose. She washed her face and hands quickly and put on her favorite knee length, light blue dress and a pair of sandals. She glanced at the mirror. She almost looked… normal. The only thing off was her skin tone. The other sins were right, she was sickly pale. However, she dismissed and swung the door open easily, taking the stairs two at a time. When she reached the bottom she turned and was met with the most startling, unexpected thing yet. Today was certainly a day for surprises, but unfortunately not for luck.

 **Please Review :)**

 **-Ava**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

(A/N) : Hope you guys don't mind, but I added an OC, if you guys like it, then follow/favorite/review. I got some awesome reviews last time, even though there were only two, they had me pretty much dancing around my room. Thanks. :)

-Ava

Nobody ever expects surprises. Because that's what they are, that's what it's called; a surprise. Especially because every surprise is different, every surprise has it's own flare, it's own thing that gives you that special expression. Surprises can be good. They can leave you laughing and dancing around the room, with a big smile and a warm feeling. But they can be bad as well, they can make you wanna disappear. Elizabeth wasn't sure what to think when she saw her brother, dressed up in full armor, drinking at the bar.

Her hands came up to cover her mouth and she gasped loudly. All eyes turned toward her, yes including her brother's. "Sebastian." She said softly, so softly that she was sure only she could hear it. His hair was white blonde, the same color as before, his dark eyes bore into her like black holes.

"Elizabeth." He said. "It's been a long time."

Elizabeth felt nothing. His voice brought back memories, running in the palace gardens, late night games of hide and seek, smirking at one another across the dinner table because both of them knew they'd done something their parents wouldn't approve of. But she felt numb as he came towards her, a weird buzzing sensation as he picked her up and spun her around. So she did what anyone would do.

Her hands pressed against the cold armor on his chest, and she shoved as hard as she could. He should've been much stronger than she was, but his heavy armor wasn't doing him any favors at the moment. He stumbled backwards, nearly falling.

"Elizabeth." He said again. "I was hoping you'd be happy to see me."

Elizabeth skirted her way around him, avoiding the looks she was getting from the rest of the sins. "Well you know what they say about hope don't you," Elizabeth gulped, she'd never, not once used this tone with anybody except Sebastian, "breeds eternal misery." Then she bolted, she was out the door in three seconds and the rain was thundering down on top of her. She ran as fast as she could. It wasn't how a princess should run. If a princess ever ran, it should be graceful, with her hands holding up her dress, on the balls of her feet, and it would never be in the rain. Elizabeth ran like a man, with her arms swinging at her sides and her heels hitting the ground first. Her dress wasn't long enough for her to trip over, though if it was she wouldn't do much about it.

It took her a minute to realize she was crying. She hadn't seen Sebastian since she was young, he'd been much smaller then, with narrower shoulders, and a bad posture. They'd both been fifteen the last time she'd seen him. He was a holy knight in training.

WHAM!

Elizabeth smacked into something hard and fell backwards, onto her butt. "Huh-"

"Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth froze. She knew that voice. Of all the people she had to run into out here…. "Sir Meliodas." She said.

He offered her a hand and she took it. "Why are you outside in this weather, you'll catch a cold." He said.

She shrugged. "I - uh…" she struggled to pull an answer out of mind, "I was getting bored all cooped up inside. Besides, I like the rain." She put her hands up, catching the drops of water that fell from the sky in her palms.

Meliodas studied her with emerald green eyes. "Still, you should get back inside."

"I'll be fine." She said, waving him off."

"Elizabeth!"

Great. Elizabeth turned. Ban jogged up with King at his heels. It was always those two. "Elizabeth." Ban said again. "What happened,who was that?"

"More importantly," King said, elbowing Ban sharply, "you should get back inside, you're sick."

"You're sick?" Meliodas demanded. "Elizabeth, get back in side."

Elizabeth glanced between the three sins, wondering if she could get away with making a run for it again. "No I don't, I'm fine."

"Elizabeth." King said. "whoever that was, we can make him leave."

Meliodas glanced at King. "What do you mean? Who are you talking about?"

Elizabeth chewed her lip. "..."

King was looking at Elizabeth. "We don't know. A strange man in armor just showed up at the Boar Hat asking for Elizabeth."

Meliodas' eyes never left Elizabeth. "Who was it?"

Elizabeth stared at the ground. "I should talk to him first."

Ban stepped sideways. "So go talk to him, what're you doin' running the other way."

Elizabeth glanced between Meliodas and the fog that separated she and her brother. If she ran maybe she could get a couple hours and her brother would have to leave. On the other hand, if she decided to talk to Sebastian, she'd get it over with, and maybe they'd say goodbye earlier.

"Okay." She said finally, "Let's go."

It only took three to walk back to the Boar Hat. The door swung open with a creek and unfortunately Sebastian was still there.

Elizabeth avoided the other sin's eyes at all costs. She just took Sebastian's arm and led him upstairs. The door shut loudly behind her. Her arms came over her chest and crossed together. After several moments of silence, and avoiding Sebastian's eyes, Elizabeth finally said, "What are you doing here?"

Sebastian shrugged. He sat on the bed and took off his gauntlets, making himself at home. "I missed my little sister."

Elizabeth cocked her head to the side. "I missed you Sebastian. So why can't I believe you."

Sebastian looked over at her. "I don't know. You should probably figure it out."

Elizabeth ran a hand through her hair. "Sebby." Sebastian's eyes softened.

"Yes Elle?"

Elizabeth bit her lip. "I…." She hadn't even realized she'd said his name. It was more like she was thinking out loud, a memory had just slipped out. Sebby was what she used to call him. She wracked her brain for something to say, anything to make this situation less awkward. "I just… seriously, why are you here?"

He laid back against the pillows and studied her with eyes like obsidian. "When I heard that princess Elizabeth had become close with the seven deadly sins I didn't believe it. I had to see for myself."

Elizabeth chewed the inside of her cheek. She'd never even thought of being rude to anyone, it wasn't in her nature. She was always the gentle one in the group, the peacemaker. But now she blurted out, "What's it to you?"

Sebastian propped himself up on his elbows. "Does father know?"

She stayed silent.

His eyes widened. "He does, doesn't he?" He grinned, and a laugh escaped his lips. "Oooh, he must of blown a coronary. Was it hilarious? How I wish I could've seen that!" He sang with delight.

"Why do you think this is so funny? These are my friends! I'm not like you, I don't befriend people just to annoy Father."

"Yes, yes, we all know the tale of Princess Elizabeth, the goody goody who wouldn't take two steps to the left without her father's permission." Sebastian sneered.

"Stop it!" She screeched, her hands balling into fists at her sides.

Sebastian rose from the bed, his hands up. "Okay, okay, I'm done. Promise. But think about this Elle, think of all the opportunities we're open to with these people."

Elizabeth gasped softly, her eyes widening. "I knew it. You're here for your own selfish reasons, just like always." She pointed at him. "Well I will not let you hurt or manipulate the people I love." With that, she turned on her heel and darted out the door.

She heard Sebastian start down the top of the stairs just as she hopped off the last one. Her friends stared at her. She smiled. "So…."

King leaned forward and whispered in a hushed voice, "I don't mean to be rude, but who's the guy in your bedroom."

"Don't you mean _my_ bedroom." Meliodas cut in.

"You and Elle share a bedroom?" Sebastian popped up next to Elizabeth, nearly scaring her half to death.

"Seb! Don't do that, you scared me."

Sebastian grinned down at her maliciously. "Sorry." He clearly wasn't sorry.

"Okay, sorry who are you?" Ban asked bluntly.

Sebastian stepped around Elizabeth and held out his hand. "My name is Sebastian, and I am Elizabeth's other half."

"Other half?"

"Her twin." Sebastian clarified.

 **(A/N) : Seriously though guys, REVIEW**

 **-Ava**


	4. AN

**A/N :**

 **Hey guys, I'm so sorry about the long wait and even more sorry to tell you it might be a little bit longer. I know excuses suck, and I probably hate them more than you do but here's mine...**

 **I'm so stumped on what to write next, every time I finish a draft of the next chapter it turns out so bad that I have to throw it away. So if you all could just be patient with me, I'm trying really hard to get something in here. And if you want to help me out, then you could give me some ideas too. Thanks so much,**

 **-Ava**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

The room was quiet for a time. A time so long the sun could've set and no one would notice. Then Ban spoke.

"Cool. I vote he can stay."

Sebastian smiled. "I vote that as well."

Elizabeth turned and glared at Ban. "No, he can't stay."

Ban raised his eyebrows. "Why not?"

"Because… he-" Elizabeth coughed violently, and then again and again.

"Elizabeth?" Meliodas came forward and placed a hand on her back. "Are you okay?"

Elizabeth didn't have time to respond, she just coughed again. She bent over, gripping the edge of the bar.

"Elizabeth!" Sebastian surged forward and crouched down in front of Elizabeth. "Elle, breath. C'mon, you can do it."

Elizabeth shook her head, still coughing with tears streaming down her face. "I-" cough, cough "Seb-" cough cough.

"I know, I know." He said.

It took Elizabeth several minutes to calm down. "Elizabeth." Sebastian whispered, leaning in close. Elizabeth felt his breath against her ear, stirring her hair. "Tell the truth, do you have it?"

Elizabeth looked up. She was crying, her eyes burning with tears. She nodded stiffly. "Yeah."

"Come here." Sebastian hauled her up, carrying her princess style.

"Sebastian-" cough "put me down." Cough.

"Can't do that. You're sick."

"No-" cough. Elizabeth turned her head, burying it in Sebastian's chest. She coughed again and again.

"It's okay Elizabeth. You're sick, it's alright."

"But-" She glanced around to see everyone staring at her. They were worried. She dropped her voice to a whisper. "I could die."

Sebastian's eyes closed briefly. "I know that. God, Elizabeth-"

"I should just go back upstairs."

"But-"

"No, you're right. I'm sick. I should get some rest." She dropped down from Seb's arms and stumbled up the stairs. She was aware of everyone's eyes on her. She didn't want them to worry. But they had good reason to. She had it; the unknown sickness that had killed her mother. The one that follows no rules or laws, completely unorthodox, disguised as the common cold. She closed the door behind her, only to immediately spiral into another fit of coughing.

She put her hand to her mouth like she'd done before, this time though, it came away red. She was coughing up blood now.

 **(A/N) Sorry about the wait. I can't exactly say my writings at it's best in this chapter, I had quite the writers block, and I'm pretty sure it's still there, but at least I got something out. Sorry it's not very long, I couldn't think of anything else after this so I just figured, why not give you guys this, even if it's not as long as the other chapters.**

 **-Ava**


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